A lawsuit filed in Poughkeepsie on behalf of Donald Trump contains what some people might interpret as a statement that Trump lost the 2020 Presidential Election, in that he is identified as now being a private citizen rather than the president.
The suit seeks at least $100 million in damages from the New York Times, Times reporters and Trump”™s niece, Mary L. Trump.
The attorneys for Trump, Habba Madaio & Associates LLP of Bedminster, New Jersey, and New York City, filed the lawsuit in Supreme Court of the State of New York, located in the Dutchess County Courthouse at 10 Market St. in Poughkeepsie. The lawsuit demands a jury trial in Dutchess County.
The lawsuit alleges that Mary L. Trump, The New York Times Company d/b/a The New York Times, employees of The Times Susanne Craig, David Barstow, and Russell Buettner — along with other individuals and corporations — conspired against Trump and interfered with his rights by obtaining his tax and financial records and publishing stories about them.
In the lawsuit, the attorneys identify Trump as now a private citizen. Trump consistently has been avoiding referring to himself as the former president and claims that there was election fraud, that the election was stolen from him and that he is the rightful president.
That has been reflected, in part, in the use of letterhead and legends that identify him as the 45th President of the United States without reference to him as being a former president.
The complaint states that Trump “is, as of the commencement of this action, a private citizen of the United States and a resident of the State of Florida in the County of Palm Beach.”
The complaint says that bringing the lawsuit in Dutchess County is proper “because a substantial part of the events or omissions giving rise to the claims occurred here and/or at least one party is domiciled here.”
The complaint alleges that The Times and its employees “knowingly and intentionally caused and/or induced Mary Trump into breaching” a settlement agreement regarding the estates of Donald”™s father and mother that required confidentiality and the sealing of records and obtained from her financial and tax documents that they used as the basis for articles about Trump”™s finances and taxes.
The complaint alleges that The Times in an Oct. 2, 2018, article credited to Barstow, Craig and Buettner “acknowledges that it was ”˜based on a vast trove of confidential tax returns and financial records”™ and that it ”˜draws on tens of thousands of pages of confidential records.”™”
The complaint alleges that Mary Trump “made numerous public statements displaying her blatant and wanton disregard for her confidentiality obligations under the Settlement Agreements.”
It alleges that her book about Donald Trump and the Trump Family that was released July 14, 2020, sold 1.35 million copies within the first week after its release and produced significant monetary compensation for her.
Among other things, the complaint charges Mary L. Trump with unjust enrichment and The Times defendants with tortious interference with a contract. It charges that The Times was negligent in supervising its employees.
Along with the complaint being filed, the defendants were summoned to respond within 20 days of being served with the summons and complaint or within 30 days if they were not personally served within New York state.
The Dutchess County Clerk’s Office shows that the complaint and summons were filed shortly after noon on Sept. 21.
